In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit
Sports anchors love to focus on what they call the “one brief shining
moment”. It’s the moment that defines a team, a game, or a generation.
The “one brief shining moment” phenomenon extends especially to
championship games. Everyone remembers who wins. No one remembers the
runner-up. All the focus is on the winner and their spoils. The
runner-up gets the inevitable post-game “what went wrong” interview and
is pushed out of the way.
Palm Sunday has two brief shining moments. Sports anchors would love
the first shining moment. Who doesn’t love a victory parade! They
wouldn’t care about the other shining moment. After all, our Lord’s
crucifixion makes Jesus the loser and the Jews a winner, or so it seems.
The triumphal procession into Jerusalem is a fitting beginning to the
most important week in the history of the world, let alone the Church
Year. The King of the Jews will soon reign from His Throne. We have
every right to celebrate with the crowds of Jews. The celebration then
turns into a perfect opportunity for a “what went wrong” interview. The
King of the Jews doesn’t act like a King. His “fall from grace” is
swift. His supporters turn their backs and flee from His side. The
little children who cried “Hosanna” now cries let Him be crucified.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I’m not talking about the King of the
Jews. I’m talking about you and me. We have fallen into the trap of
the devil. We hear Jesus’ Passion once again and tremble at what
happens. We should tremble. It is our sins that send Him to the cross.
Yet we don’t tremble when we hear Him ride into Jerusalem. We are too
busy cheering Him onto victory. The victory that we expect and the
victory that actually happens are two completely different things.
It was that way with the Jews too. The Jews expected a victory that
excluded the Roman Empire from all authority. They expected Jesus to
take Caesar’s eagle and knock it off the pedestal. It was time for a
real king, not one foisted on them by foreign invaders. It was time for
heaven on earth; perfect peace and joy with the Son of God sitting on
the throne, grinning like a Cheshire cat, overjoyed that “we” are in
control for once and for all.
Maybe that’s why we naturally shy away from the events of later this
week and instead focus on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. These are the
memories of our Lord we want to carry with us through our earthly
pilgrimage. We could do without hearing Psalm 22 while the altar is
stripped on Maundy Thursday. We could do without the barren church
building, stark liturgical rites, and gloomy hymns of Good Friday.
Let’s get to the “one brief shining moment” where Jesus is in control of
the situation and skip over the messy details in between.
The problem with skipping the messy details in between is skipping over
why Jesus Christ suffers and dies the way He does. When Judas betrays
Jesus with a kiss, the “one brief shining moment” really begins. They
parade Him back and forth between the High Priest, King Herod, and
Pontius Pilate. Jesus has every opportunity to speak up and put an end
to this mess. He remains silent. As we sang last week: Goes patient
on, grows weak and faint,/ To slaughter led without complaint,/ That
spotless life to offer,/ He bears the stripes, the wounds, the lies/ The
mockery, and yet replies,/ “All this I gladly suffer.”
Earlier I said that there are two brief shining moments today. Let me
amend that by saying there is only one brief shining moment today,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, next Sunday, and every day until Judgment
Day. The one brief shining moment we live in is Jesus Christ and what
He has done to secure eternity for you and me. Every year we are
privileged to relive our Lord’s story. It’s actually our story too.
When Jesus takes on flesh and is born of the Virgin Mary, He is born for
you and me. When Satan tempts Jesus, He conquers temptation with God’s
Word for you and me. When Jesus enters Jerusalem on a colt, the foal of
a donkey, He enters the Most Holy City to save us from our sins. He
rides on in majesty for you and me. When Jesus takes His place on the
Throne of the Cross to die, He dies for you and me. When Jesus rises
triumphantly from the dead, He rises for you and me.
That’s the joy of Holy Week. We have the privilege by grace through
faith in Jesus Christ to say, “Everything He does this week, He does for
me.” Yes, we grieve over the cost of our sin. The wages of sin is
death. But it’s not our death. It’s Jesus’ death for us. It’s not
merely our resurrection. It’s Jesus’ resurrection for us that paves the
way for our resurrection in Him.
The “one brief shining moment” continues into our lives. The preaching
of forgiveness, life, and salvation is poured over our heads in Baptism,
put into our mouths in the Lord’s Supper, and put into our ears through
sermon, study, and song. Church no longer is about who is the best
dressed or the best behaved. Church is now about receiving the benefits
of the “one brief shining moment” of the life, death, resurrection, and
ascension of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, our Savior. His “one brief
shining moment” is that in which we live; not only here in time but
there, in the heavenly mansions, for the shining moment that lasts for
all eternity.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit
--------
Rev. David M. Juhl
Our Savior, Momence, IL
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